The shocking truth about what it takes to be faithful to God for a lifetime

When we are battling everything from a common cold to cancer, we are diverting energy that otherwise would be used to worship God, bless others and be productive in this life. This is why next to death; the greatest weapon the enemy uses to trip up God's people is sickness, disease and injury. Amazingly, I have come to understand in recent years that God at times allows getting and staying sick for many different reasons.

I used to condemn those who got sick and didn't get healed. I looked down on them as being weak in faith. This ridiculous attitude changed abruptly when I got sick many years ago and no amount of prayer got me better. When I had to have an operation in July of 1988 or die, it was the most humbling experience of my life. It was only after I finally got better that I began to understand that God had allowed the sickness so as to teach me about suffering, pain and everything else associated with sickness.

In the 25 years since that operation, God has healed me countless times of everything from a sore throat to major heart issues. God has also required that I endure long periods of suffering so as to be a better servant for my Lord and manifest the empathetic understanding necessary to help people who have no way to deal with pain, grief or despair.

When I start feeling bad I try to immediately take the situation directly to God and ask Him for healing. If that healing happens, I give Him all praise and glory and move on with life. But, if that healing does not happen immediately, I ask for prayer by those who know and love me. If the healing still has not happened, I look for both natural as well as medical cures.

If, after doing all these things I am still no better, I know that God is either using my situation to benefit another or is trying to teach me a profound lesson in living. What I know (by experience) is that I have learned some of the most incredible things when I was suffering the most. The ability to remain faithful to God even when our frail human body breaks down is the single greatest lesson in living we could ever experientially learn.

In this life, I have survived being stripped of my ministry credentials, the breakup of a marriage, financial disaster, many major medical emergencies and conditions and devoting years of my life to caring for ailing parents. If I know one thing and rejoice in anything it is that through it all, my faith in God and love for Him has never wavered and in fact has grown immensely. I can honestly say that my life since all those things happened long ago, is far better and stable now than before they all came crashing down upon me.

It takes deep conviction, unwavering faith and absolute trust to endure tribulation, distress, affliction and loss. It takes far more of these things to stand through hardship than to ride the crest of the wave during the good times. If we desire to stay faithful to God for a lifetime, we better learn how to endure hardship for I guarantee you it will follow those who are in Christ Jesus like the tail behind the dog.

Until and unless we are willing to lose everything in this life, including our good health, good looks and good lifestyle; we will never be able to remain faithful in the long run to our Lord. If and when those things the world calls most important are sacrificed at the feet of Jesus, then we are able to be a servant of the Lord and child in whom He is well pleased. Isn't that what we want?

Along with terrible knees, now I got a shoulder that don't move as well as it used to, and gives pain.

I know God can and does heal. And I also know that our physical bodies age, and eventually wear due to this present world we are in. The day comes when everything about this world will pass. Living is knowing that.

God Bless. It is part of our journey through this life. Good blog. billy

Nearly a year before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, a precious young woman named Lacey who had two very young children and attended our church was diagnosed with cancer. I remember that she had to go back on chemo as I was going through it as well. I remember the two of us standing together at church, minus our hair, holding hands, smiling at one another with tears of joy on our faces as we worshiped God.

After a valiant struggle, Lacey died and I am still here. I refuse to believe that was due to lack of faith. You see, when I think about Lacey and her beautiful smile through it all, I realize that she was a woman of great faith. Though she suffered a great deal, even as she was dying, she clung to God. She knew that even if she had to leave them, God would be with her beloved husband and children. She knew that God had not failed her and that she could trust Him no matter what... even if she passed through death's door.

If that is not faith, B2Y, I do not know what is.

For nearly six years God has brought me and my husband into close contact with Christians who are afflicted. I am talking about people who are critically ill, struggling with their marriage or have been abandoned by their spouse, have lost their family, their job, their home, are struggling financially and so forth. These are people whose lives have been torn to apart by devastating events that often cannot be "fixed" in the natural sense. There is no person in the world who can "make it better" and yet I am humbled by many of these people. They are not off in a corner crying and shaking their fists at God. They are clinging to Him and even... seeking to serve and encourage others. Amazing!

This is one reason it hurts me so much to hear these dear precious saints criticized and even condemned. To me their single testimony speaks louder than 100 or more physical healings. They are living testimonies that God is with us, even in the darkest night and He will be with us always, even when we face death.